Wells Fargo Posts Stronger-Than-Expected Earnings

Wells Fargo & Co. said its second-quarter profit rose as the nation's third-largest bank tries to regain its footing and grow again nearly a year after its sales-practices scandal.

The bank reported a profit of $5.81 billion, or $1.07 a share. That compares with $5.56 billion, or $1.01 a share, in the same period of 2016. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.01 a share.

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Revenue rose to $22.17 billion. Analysts had expected $22.47 billion.

Wells Fargo, led by Chief Executive Timothy Sloan, had been one of the most consistent big banks at growing earnings and revenue. Shares dropped though last year after the bank agreed to a $185 million settlement with two regulators and a city official over opening as many as 2.1 million accounts with fictitious or unauthorized information.

It also continues to face a spate of state and federal investigations that the bank has said it is cooperating with.

The bank's shares bounced back following the election, rising 22%.

That compares with a 29% jump by the KBW Nasdaq Bank index of large commercial lenders over the same period.